AIR FORCE ACADEMY — There isn’t much that crowds football out of Troy Calhoun’s mind, but the substance of a phone call the Air Force coach received a couple of weeks ago got his attention.

While out of town with his family, Calhoun retrieved a phone message that explained his home was in danger of being in the Black Forest fire near Colorado Springs and they should evacuate immediately.

Luckily for Calhoun and his family, their home escaped harm. When he returned home, his thoughts immediately turned back to Falcons football.

“There’s not a day that goes by that football doesn’t dominate your thoughts,” he said. “That’s the way it has to be here.”

Some might think Calhoun is overreacting to a blip on his sterling record at Air Force. The Falcons were 6-7 last season, his first losing record in six years as their head coach.

But Calhoun insists nothing has really changed in terms of his focus ever since he got the head coaching job. The job consumes him.

“I don’t know if it’s a disease or a virus or what, but that’s what you have to do if you’re going to make a run at a bowl game,” Calhoun said. “You always study the personnel you’re going to be working with in the next season. You have to design and build your system each year to maximize the resources you have.”

Calhoun has had a long offseason to dwell on the reasons his program has fallen, and what to do to get the Falcons back near the top of the Mountain West.

“We have nine returning starters, but no one has made our team yet,” Calhoun said. “That will be determined by what’s done over the next 45 days. We’ll see who does the work and earns the right to be part of our team.”

When preseason practice begins, Calhoun is faced with a major rebuilding job at quarterback. Kale Pearson, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound junior, is the only candidate listed on an early depth chart. He has limited game experience.

Incoming freshmen arrive in early July and begin basic cadet training. It’s a drastic change in lifestyle for the young men, some of whom walk away when confronted with the demands of a service academy.

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